AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR This books shows for the first time the battle techniques of the medieval period and reexamines the sources for battle numbers. We don't know how medieval soldiers fought. Did they just walk forward in their armour, to smash each other with their maces and poleaxes, for hours on end, as depicted on film in programs such as Game of Thrones? They could not have done so. It is impossible to fight in such a manner for more than several minutes as exhaustion becomes a preventative factor. Indeed, we know more of how the Roman and Greek armies fought than we do of the 1300 to 1550 period. So how did medieval soldiers in the War of the Roses, and in the infantry sections of battles such as Agincourt and Towton, carry out their grim work? Medieval Military Combat shows, for the first time, the techniques of such battles. It also breaks new ground in establishing medieval battle numbers as highly exaggerated, and that we need to look again at the accounts of actions such as the famous Battle of Towton, which this work uses as a basic for its overall study. AUTHOR: Dr Tom Lewis OAM is an Australian author and military historian. He served for 20 years in the Australian Defence Forces, and is also a high school teacher. He has been awarded the Order of Australia Medal for services to naval history.
AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR This books shows for the first time the battle techniques of the medieval period and reexamines the sources for battle numbers. We don't know how medieval soldiers fought. Did they just walk forward in their armour, to smash each other with their maces and poleaxes, for hours on end, as depicted on film in programs such as Game of Thrones? They could not have done so. It is impossible to fight in such a manner for more than several minutes as exhaustion becomes a preventative factor. Indeed, we know more of how the Roman and Greek armies fought than we do of the 1300 to 1550 period. So how did medieval soldiers in the War of the Roses, and in the infantry sections of battles such as Agincourt and Towton, carry out their grim work? Medieval Military Combat shows, for the first time, the techniques of such battles. It also breaks new ground in establishing medieval battle numbers as highly exaggerated, and that we need to look again at the accounts of actions such as the famous Battle of Towton, which this work uses as a basic for its overall study. AUTHOR: Dr Tom Lewis OAM is an Australian author and military historian. He served for 20 years in the Australian Defence Forces, and is also a high school teacher. He has been awarded the Order of Australia Medal for services to naval history.
Introduction 2. An initial understanding of tactics, armour and weapons, and how Hollywood confuses matters 3. The Black Hole of Knowledge regarding Medieval Combat 4. The Longbow’s Place in Medieval Battle 5. The effectiveness of poleaxes 6. How were medieval battles fought? 7. Towton as an example - the battle is joined 8. The myth of fatalities 9. A conclusion, and a new understanding of Medieval Battle Appendices Appendix 1 - Polydore Vergil and Edward Hall’s accounts Appendix 2 - Percussive weapons of the Leeds Armouries database
One of Australia's foremost military historians, Dr Tom Lewis is a former naval officer and author of 14 books. Tom is a resident of Darwin and teaches secondary school history.
A very good read for anyone trying to better understand warfare in
the period and also for those interested in analytical approaches
to the study of poorly documented conflicts.
*The NYMAS Review 31/08/2021*
Screenwriters and directors of fantasy or medieval film or
television battles would benefit greatly from reading this
book!
*Miniature Wargames - Arthur Harman 12/04/2021*
A work of seminal outstanding and meticulously detailed
scholarship, this book is a unique and unreservedly recommended
addition to community, college and university library Medieval
History collections in general, and Medieval Military History
supplemental curriculum studies lists in particular.
*Midwest Book Review 21/06/2021*
The author of this ambitious study puts forward three hypotheses to
present what he calls ‘a new theory of medieval battle’. First, he
argues that the men-at-arms – what we would best understand as
‘knights’ – were rotated on the front line as they could only
engage their opponents for a few minutes at a time without becoming
exhausted; second, that battles were far less deadly that might be
imagined; and third that the overall numbers involved were far
fewer than is generally thought.
*Toy Soldier Collector & Historical Figures 21/06/2021*
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